Angela Davis

Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is a renowned American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. Considered a legendary figure in the fight for civil rights, she champions for the oppressed and the marginalized across the globe. She gained prominence in the 1960s as a member of the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles, but was fired by the school’s governing body due to her membership in the Communist Party USA. She also became a high-profile author and continues to write on issues of race, class, and gender in American society.

Davis is especially noted for her active involvement in the Communist Party USA, the Black Panther Party, and her pivotal role in movements like the Occupy movement and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. She was a founding member of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (CCDS). An iconic scholar, as a professor emerita in the History of Consciousness Department and the Feminist Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Davis has contributed to critical theory, Marxism, black feminism, and intersectionality, among other areas. Controversies notwithstanding, Angela Davis continues to be an influential figure in the fight for social justice to this day.